How Will a New FRA Rule Affect Commuter Rail?

Misguided safety rules from the Federal Railroad Administration are cited as the cause for all sorts of problems, from high-construction costs to pedestrian hazards to, ironically, worse safety outcomes.

Which helps explain why Jarret Walker at Network blog Human Transit is alarmed about a new rule "requiring two-person train crews... for most main line freight and passenger rail operations." It's "much too soon to panic," Walker says, but he was still compelled to send the FRA his concerns about how this might play out for commuter rail:

The language creates a reasonable suspicion you are about to ban one-person crews on urban commuter rail services regulated by the FRA, which usually fall within FRA's use of the term "passenger rail." While the text is unclear about what "minimum crew size" standard it proposes for "passenger rail," it makes no sense that you would need to "establish minimum crew size standards" if the intended minimum were one.

Your release mentions later that the rule is expected to contain "appropriate exceptions." It would be wise to give the transit and urban development worlds some assurance that you don't plan to shut down the possibility of one-person-crew urban transit -- using FRA-regulated rail corridors -- through this rule. Such services -- similar to existing commuter rail but with higher frequency and smaller vehicles -- are one of the best hopes for cost-effective new rail transit in the US.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Urban Velo reports that Indianapolis is getting ready to launch its bike-share system. Strong Towns gives advice for communities that don't have much of a biking and walking culture but are trying to change that. And Urban Review STL reports that a new hospital expansion in St. Louis is coming with an immense parking garage.